Ducati Monster Forum

Hi Guys,

a quick question: I'm having a lot of discussion with a vendor of a carbon rear fender. In his eBay ad, he claims it's to fit all pre-2000 monsters. I went ahead and ordered said fender. When I received the package and tried to mount the fender, the mounting points were way off. The fender required a bolt directly into the swingarm on both sides, while my original fender was attached to 4 mounting points on brackets at a 90-degree angle (so with the bolt in the horizontal plane), as can be seen in the image below (I know, I have to clean the bike! ;)). Are there 2 different types of pre-2000 swingarms? I've heard there were alu and steel versions, depending on the year. Can anyone shed some light on this issue?

(https://lh5.ggpht.com/__Po2c5Xzcvg/S4peo2R7CMI/AAAAAAAAAJE/uT6tZPnkVPQ/s400/IMAGE_216_2.jpg)

Cheers!

You have a very early aluminum swing arm. They indeed have that type of mount.

The vendor is incorrect.

+1

That's the same style as an 851/888 rear fender. I had a 1994 Monster that had that same rear fender mount.

Ok, thnx for the help! I sent a link to this topic (and also a scan of the workshop manual clearly showing my swingarm to be original) to the vendor but he hasn't responded since. Luckily I haven't given the eBay feedback yet, so I'm afraid it's not going to be positive for him!

I'm guessing he doesn't carry the hugger for an 851/888

Nope, just checked his site. Only a hugger for 'all pre-2000 monsters' [roll]. He offered for me to send the item back, but I would have to pay the transportation. That would mean I paid transport twice, total amount being more than a third of the hugger price, without having a hugger [bang] I don't think so!

I guess if he doesn't make it right you leave poor feedback on ebay...

and tell everyone here who it is. ;D

One here...

http://www.roadracemotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=354 (http://www.roadracemotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=354)

I'm no expert but it looks to me like a 2k+ fender?

Anyhow, about the whole Ebay thing. Something very similar just happened to me. Ebay has this very wonderful thing called "Ebay Buyer Protection". You should check the terms of the buyer protection before you proceed but I assume that since the part is an incorrect one and the seller doesn't offer what you are looking for you should be able to send the item back and receive a full refund. I'm assuming the seller has not responded to you with a refund offer?

Nah he did, but he wants me to pay the shipping (so in total I would have paid shipping twice, totalling to 38% of the cost of the fender!). Doesn't seem reasonable when it's his mistake, right?

The part that you can see is like my 96 hugger.

Thnx for the link! I'll see how this one plays out, and if I cant get it to work, maybe I'll be in the market for that!

Yeah, worse case you keep the one you have. Sell it. Then buy the right one. I'm sure someone is in the market for a sweet new CF hugger!

Would it be possible to drill a small hole in the swingarm to attach the fender to? Or would this weaken the structure?

I don't think that would be a good idea.  I would cut up the fender before ever thinking of drilling holes into the swingarm or frame for that matter.

Don't people do that to use paddock-stand spools too?

 ???  Good question.  I don't know.  If that's the case then I would think those shouldn't hurt I guess as it looks like they would be small screws.  I have a SSS and would be too scared to start drilling holes in it myself.

Aluminum suffers from fatigue cracks.  

Yes, but if the principal load on the swingarm is vertical, drilling a hole in the web for a spool doesn't weaken it too much because the load is carried on the top and bottom metal surfaces, and the web is there to keep everything together.  (Viceversa for side loads).

Biz, in a perfect world, Mojo is right.  You prefer to modify the accessories, not the basic bike.  Any chance you can patch/attach a CF tab to it?  CF is about $40-50 square yard or so from Aircraft Spruce.  Some WEST epoxy/hardener is around $50 qt.  I know it is a lot, but then you can make other CF parts for your bike.  You can try to do it on the cheap by asking/buying CF remnants and using DEVCON epoxy from Ace hardware too.  

Hmmz, you guys are scaring me! ;) I guess I'll make an adapter to attach the fender to one of the original mounting points, shouldn't be too hard!

Just cut your losses and send it back

Hell no, I'm not giving him the satisfaction of winning! Customizing is all part of the game, right? Besides, I've already given him a really bad eBay rating, so I doubt he will still refund me [evil]

Im telling you....sell the one you have and buy the right one!

Did you check out the one I linked to?

I might be interested in the one you have if you decide to sell and buy the correct one.  Let me know.

Ah crap... now I'm gonna be tempted to try this.  Brace yourselves for a series of threads asking for help and culminating in IZ_ pics of poor-quality CF hashjobs.